Organized by We Surround Them Palm Springs, the TEA Party Anti-Tax Rally was a great success. Anytime on can have the local police begin to get upset and exert control over a peaceful enterprize, maybe one is touching a nerve. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)Palm Springs TEA Party Anti-Tax Rally
The actual crowd was estimated to be a little less than 100 people. The event was very closely watched and monitored by the local police department and they responded quickly to any complaint of excessive noise.
This type of attention caught me off guard, in that, I was in Palm Springs soon after the November elections last year and witnessed a rally that had been organized by the people who were against Proposition 8 (the constitutional amendment defining marriage as being only between a man and a women). The proposition passed, as expected, by a wide margin, and those who wanted the proposition to be defeated were not happy. The rally managed to have about 50 or so cars parade down Palm Canyon Drive, at a very slow pace and have all of the cars horns HONK as the passengers hang out holding "NO On Eight" signs and placards. It was quite a show to watch as one was trying to share time with friends and family over dinner at the local California Pizza Kitchen. The conversation was nearly impossible.
After the parade, the participants roamed up and down the Drive, loudly making sure everyone knew of their displeasure at the measure (Prop 8) passing. The local police did nothing to quell this disturbance ... on this evening and about this issue.
Today, the police were vigilant, and it was hard to understand why ... until one realizes what WE were out on the street protesting about.
The crowd was on Palm Canyon Drive to bring attention to spending measures that our state government had drafted and placed on a ballot for a special election to be held in just a few days on May 19th, so that they, the state, could continue to spend money at a record rate. We all were tired of having the highest taxes of most any of the fifty states, the highest corporate taxes of most any of the fifty states, and it is time to STOP THE MADNESS!
The measures to be voted on are named Propositions 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, 1-D, 1-E, and 1-F --- to go on and parse each and every proposition, to be honest, is pointless because each of the propositions were drafted for and by a government that is in the middle of OUT OF CONTROL SPENDING ... and they wish to continue the practice. Not passing these measures on May 19, 2009 will send a message that the State of California can not go along doing business as usual.
Many hand made/home made signs designed to inform and get a reaction from passersby. The rally was held in the noonday sun of an early sping Friday with the temperature approaching 100 degrees, Fahrenheit. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)The local police are government workers and are dependent upon what the state government does, so anything that works against the government, receives attention. This is why the protesters along Palm Canyon Drive needed to be reined in ... on the attention level we were creating.
Vote NO on Propositions 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, 1-D, 1-E, and 1-F to send a message to the politicians who are elected to protect our, the tax paying citizens, interests. It is time to STOP THE MADNESS and have the state government stop the spending - period.
Tomorrow, another, much larger event is planned for the Federal Building in Westwood on Westwood Blvd just East of the 405 Freeway. If you happen to be in the area around 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM PDT, please show up and show support for a no vote on Propositions 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, 1-D, 1-E, and 1-F.
